How to heat rooms faster and stop wasting money

The weather across the UK has plummeted in recent weeks, which means many people will be switching on their heating and turning up their radiators to keep toasty. Radiators can work wonders during the autumn and winter months, but households may be impeding on its ability to heat rooms without even realising.

However, the increasing cost of energy bills are a continuous problem that hangs overhead, meaning that some people may find themselves choosing between heating homes properly and high bills during the colder months. The experts at Which? recently urged people to carry out four simple tasks to ensure that their radiators are working at their best, maximising the amount of heat the appliances emit into homes while avoiding wasting energy and sending bills sky high. They can take no time at all, but they can have a major impact on the efficiency of heating and radiators.

How to heat rooms faster and save money on bills

Remove dust

The first thing you should consider doing is giving your radiator a well overdue clean. Radiators can gather a good amount of dust without you even realising.

Dust can make radiators less efficient, stopping the heat from travelling out into a room. To remove any trapped or hidden dust, you can buy a specially designed radiator duster that can get in between the radiator’s panels.

A radiator duster is a long, slim, flexible cleaning tool designed to slip between and behind radiator fins to remove trapped dust, fluff, and allergens. Simply poke the duster into the centre of the radiator, and watch all the dust fall to the floor.

Radiator reflector foil is a thin panel or sheet that has been specially designed to stop heat escaping from the backs of radiators. They’re typically made with foil or another reflective material, and sometimes padded with a thin layer of insulation.

This will help maximise the heat the radiator gives off, and prevent it from escaping through the walls. Radiator reflector foil is particularly effective if you have a radiator that is situated on an external wall.

According to Energy Saving Trust, radiator reflectors can reduce your carbon footprint foil or other reflective material, and save up to £18 and £20 on your energy bills, in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, respectively. If you don’t have access to radiator reflector foil, Which? explained that households could use kitchen foil instead as a low cost alternative.

Simply measure the distance between the radiator brackets, cut the foil to size, and stick on with double sided tape.

If you have a sofa or table, or another large item placed in front of your radiator, you could be sabotaging your heating without even realising it. Simply move the furniture away from the radiator, leave a one foot gap between the appliance and the furniture.

Which? said: “This will help the radiator to heat your space quicker.”

The last task you can do is bleed the radiator. Bleeding radiators will help to remove any trapped air inside of the appliance.

Air clogs up radiators, settling at the highest point of the appliance, as air is lighter than water. Air prevents the hot water from travelling to the upper part of the radiator, pushing it down.

To bleed a radiator, you’ll need to turn off the heating and wait between 20 to 30 minutes for the radiator to cool down properly. Place a cloth, towel, or container directly underneath the bleed valve to catch any water.

Insert your radiator key or flat-head screwdriver and turn it slowly anticlockwise. You’ll start to heat a hissing noise as the trapped air begins to escape.

As soon as water starts to stream or spurt out instead of air, turn the key clockwise to close it tightly, but be sure not to overtighten the valve. Be careful when bleeding radiators, and if you’re not confident in doing so, it’s best to ring a professional to help.